Diversity and distribution of the free-living marine nematodes in the mangrove sediments of the Andaman Islands

摘要

Present study was conducted to examine the spatial and seasonal variations in the population density and the assemblage structure of free-living marine nematodes within 3 mangrove areas of the Andaman Islands. Of the three sites, the highest nematode density was observed in St. 1 (185 ± 15.83) and the least was found in St. 3 (17 ± 2.98). A total of 39 genera belonging to 17 families with Chromadoridae having the highest number of genera (7), and Xyalidae with highest species (8) were observed during the study period. Species richness (11.86) and species diversity (3.99) was high in St. 2. Canonical correspondence analysis illustrates the relations between nematodes and environmental parameters such as soil pH, total organic carbon and sediment texture (silt and clay). Cluster analysis revealed significant change among the stations and seasons. The result provides the preliminary report about the marine nematodes on their ecological aspects from the intertidal mangrove sediments of this island.